Love Wood, Love Life !

Ey up my faithful blogworms, We are slowly restoring badly installed timber tops and restoring peoples faith in them. 

Timber tops are a fabulous, practical, long lasting and gorgeous set of worktops but keep getting bad press because 'muppets' install them with no understanding of exactly how they should be treated, this puts people off owning them and THAT'S WRONG !!

Here's another set we've brought back from the brink :

2 runs, Hob side and Sink side, hob side badly grease marked and dented, some splits and cracks caused by lack of know ledge and maintenance

What misguided fool stuck this obscene mass of tarred paper underneath this one ?

It was only over a fridge and freezer ! not as if it's gonna get damp ... is it ?

This mess took some getting off for us to thoroughly sand it back and prep it properly. You can't sand it back and oil it as it should be with this crap stuck all over it ...and they'd stapled it for good measure !!!!

The sink side had to come off too with even more of the tarred crap all over it .... for God's sake !! That's it flipped over sitting on the left after we'd got it back to bare wood.

Sink run, sanded and prepped and with it's first of three coats of oil on the back. As important to treat the back just as much as the front to create a moisture balance between the two. This prevents drying out and warping of the timber




 
Diligent and thorough oiling all all surfaces puts all the hard work in at the installation stage to make maintaining the timber later a doddle. We even provide full instruction sheets on how to machine & install with how to look after your tops when we've finished printed on the back.
2 pages, in simple English that anyone can understand that ensures the long term success and durability of these fantastic worksurfaces.


Both sets fully restored and being re-installed. Leaving the last oil coat until everything's back in to give us that final flourish in the finish. Look at picture 1 and then this last picture ..... the results speak for themselves !! 

A bit of TLC and careful attention to detail and these worktops will live on for many years to come.

DO NOT be influenced by negative people when looking to buy hardwood worktops ! 

They ARE brilliant and they WILL last for years if installed by people who understand what they're doing !!

Any doubts, contact me, if we can't install for you for whatever reason, I will still happily email our 2 page guide to make sure that whoever fits for you does it properly and you will have worktops that you love and will serve you well for years to come !

I LOVE HARDWOOD WORKTOPS AND YOU CAN TOO !

Contact me before it's too late. Jules

'On the Buses'

Ey up my faithful blogworms, been out a lot lately with working away and holidays, you know what it's like, but anyway back now on following a Yorkshire theme this week. 

Our area, Yorkshire, as any local will tell you is 'Gods Own County' in England. Getting around our county there are some spectacular sights to be seen. A lot of people do, believe it or not choose public transport !!

Which brings me too todays topic ..... Bus Blinds !!,, what's a bus blind I here you ask ?

A bus blind is the fabric roller that revolves in the front of bus, above the windscreen, showing the different destinations that route goes to.

See pics below: 


We've managed to get hold of a genuine late 1970's, early 1980's Bus Blind complete, coming off a Leeds 'First Bus' route, it has dozens of well known Yorkshire destinations on it and we are slicing them off and framing them up as great nostalgia pieces to grace any home.

The destinations are too many to mention here but go as far east as Skipton and as far west as York, Wakefield, out to Bradford area and over to Wetherby, Boston Spa and loads around the main Leeds area.




We also have blinds which are non geographic such as : Park & Ride, University, Private and Out of Service.

The top blind is framed in Leeds 'First Bus' colours as an upgrade to the basic ones shown below framed in black.


Unless we have ones framed up and in stock already, as these 3 are, you can order and have your favourite destination framed up either way to suit your preferences.





Some of you may have seen these framed mainly of London area destinations but why should Yorkshire be left out ???

Many, many people have fantastic memories of holidays spent in our humble county and why shouldn't we celebrate that with Yorkshire Bus Blinds as reminders (or even Milestones) for happy times spent here. 

As I said, we have dozens on the complete blind so why not contact us to see if we have your favourite location available ???

To grab hold of your fabulous Yorkshire Bus Blind, email me on: julian@milestone.uk.net or go to our facebook page and message me:  www.facebook.com/MilestoneEcoKitchens

Your favourite is within your grasp but bear in mind ! ... we only have one of each, so it's first come, first served !!!1

All aboard ! Jules

THE REVOLUTION STARTS NOW !!

Ey my faithful blogworms,

I'm going to shout this week about an absolutley fabulous new product, the like of which I've waited 25 years to find !!

DEKTON  .... Probably the most remarkable worktop material ever yet invented by man !!

Why, I'll tell you why !

Back to normal now, all this shouting's making my thoat sore.

Buy granite tops and you can put a hot pan on them but they will stain in time, buy Quartz tops and they won't stain but you can't put a hot pan on them.. 

Wouldn't it be fantastic if you could get the advantages of both types with none of the drawbacks ??

Well now you can !! ...... Dekton is the answer !!

 Dekton ... Resists everything in it's path

# Extremely resistant to scratching .. cut on it and it will ruin your knife !

# Virtually zero porosity .. pretty impossible to stain it .. with anything !

# Very highly resistant to aggressive chemicals, certainly nothing you've got in your kitchen will affect it !


 # Relentless in it's resistance to heat, and .. Yes .. that is a blowlamp !! so a hot pan isn't going to be a problem !

# Totally UV stable, impervious to wind, rain, ice, sleet and snow, you can even clad buildings in it !

# It's strong enough and hard enough to use as flooring .. Indoors or Outdoors, it makes no difference !

# It's fireproof, colour stable and superb dimensional stability !

Big key question .. Is it prohibitively expensive ? 

Answer .. No, definitely not !

Coming in at around price group 2 for quartz materials, it's very affordable for such a superb, multi application, worktop material.


Just imagine having a set of worktops that are going to pretty much laugh off anything you can throw at them !

You can do all the things you shouldn't do with 'ordinary' worktops and not have a care in the world. 


Totally stress free worktops that will last a lifetime no matter how much abuse you throw at them ..

Bliss !  Come on .. you've got to agree ... worktops don't get any better than this AND they're guaranteed for 10 years to start with !!

Worktops in a kitchen, bathroom and outdoors, Indoor and outdoor floors, Indoor walls, Bathroom walls, Exterior walls and even STAIRS.

This really is the material I've waited all my time in the kitchens business to find.

It ticks every single box I would want to tick 

Interested, and let's face it, why wouldn't you be ??

Talk to me Blogworms, let's start the Revolution together !!

Jules 

Baku Airport, Azerbaijan .. Outside approach and all the way through inside the airport, surely the ultimate test for any material in all weathers and temperatures, kinda makes home worktops a piece of cake really !

Going the Extra Mile

Ey up my faithful blogworms, for those of you that follow us on Facebook:

www.facebook.com/MilestoneEcoKitchens, first of all ....Thank you ! and for all of you that don't follow us yet, use the link and go have a look.

I posted a picture just a couple of days ago shown below, saying that we go the extra mile for all our customers and here's how !

All our products are of a quality that we, ourselves, would be happy to have in our own kitchen and, in fact, we all do !! So to start with, we're putting our money where our mouth is !

IF YOUR ORDER IS 'SUPPLY ONLY', and very unusual in our industry, we guarantee that all the items needed to complete your kitchen that are on the parts list, will be delivered first time, in 1 drop, with nothing missing, everything the right colour and specification. Not many companies actually guarantee that ! Our guarantee is your peace of mind.

You can send us plans and quotes provided by other companies and we will do our very best to either match the price or improve your design or both ! If you've followed my earlier blogs, you will already know about our flexible and versatile approach to designing your kitchen.

For DIY or 'installed by others' not familiar with our recycled materials, we provide FREE OF CHARGE full instruction sheets for all the necessary areas. These are written in plain English based on our own experience of mastering these materials. We also give you our contact number and are always on hand to give you advice if you get stuck. Over the years many people have benefitted from our committment to not seeing you stuck for help.

.................................................................................................................................

IF YOUR ORDER IS INSTALLED BY US you don't pay any delivery charges as we are bringing your kitchen with us anyway !

We are happy to advise on other areas of the project while we're with you as we take a good 'Holistic' approach to all the projects we install. We have also been known to do other odd jobs around the place, FREE OF CHARGE, because we're there and because we can !! We also understand how difficult it can be to get someone to turn up for the little jobs that need doing. If our wide skills base covers what you need, we'll happily take of whatever it is you need.

Often a kitchen project can 'evolve' while we're working on it. If we see an even better way to make your kitchen more successful, we'll ask you what you think and if you like it, we'll do it. No fuss, no bother. 

If some aspect of the preparation work was missed before we get there, don't worry, we'll simply get stuck and sort it. We hate the scenario where some work is brought to a halt over some minor problem where other people would say, "Sorry, can't do that cos it not my job !" 

No, wrong answer !... we'll just do it if we can without a second thought so we keep the work moving forwards. You want your kitchen finished and working, not a load of excuses  as to why it can't be.

The more we can think about and take care of means less stress and bother for you, making the whole experience calmer, easier and generally a much nicer experience.

Holistically yours, Jules

Eco Elite Lite !

REALLY IMPORTANT NEWS  !!!

Ey up my faithful blogworms, this week there have been major changes here at Milestone HQ. In response to questions and enquiries we have taken the massive decision .. to us anyway .. to make our Premium product - 'Eco Elite' - more affordable to more people !!

What ? --- How? I hear you ask.

The whole ethos behind Elite was to be sympathetic to the tree, how it grew, where it grew and how to get the best sustainable use from it.

Well ... basically that hasn't changed, phew ! ... I hear the gasp. 



The element of Elite that took it into the premium brand sector was the sheer work, time and skill that went into grain running and matching across, not just one or two doors, but the whole kitchen. 


However, we had an enquiry for Elite, from someone who loved the overall concept but couldn't afford the level we normally take it to. A suggestion we offered was to make a kitchen for them with all the other bits that make it special, kept in place, but not go with the grain running idea.

This, of course, makes Elite far, far less costly to produce but maintains every other aspect.

It does mean that each door is still hand made but an item in it's own right, not having to match up to it's neighbour.

This enormously cuts down the time involved in manufacture and as time is money, it costs less to produce.



We reckon it takes off around 40 to 50% of the cost depending on the size of the kitchen layout.

That's how we make a premium product retain it's integrity but lower it's cost. And as it's our own product we can adapt it to suit anyones requirements if we feel the end justifies the means.
It's that Good Old Milestone versatility cropping up once more.

So if you've spent time drooling over 'Elite' on our website, thinking "There's no way I can afford that even though it is beautiful", well now you can !!

FOOTNOTE: We've even started making the fabulous tree branch handles for you to buy to put on your own kitchen !! How cool is that ??

We're thinking of this new development as a sort "Eco Elite Lite"

Making Eco more affordable all the time. Jules.

To Creative Thinking !

Ey up my faithful blogworms ....

Blogworm: Term of endearment, appreciation of followers, bookworms read many books so by definition blogworms read many blogs, simples !

Time I felt to re-affirm our mission statement to you all, so pictures speaking a thousand words and all that ! I thought I'd post our summary leaflet to explain.

We don't plan, design or all the normal things you'd expect from a kitchen company .... Oh no ! .... nothing so mundane. 

We CREATE KITCHENS in the truest sense because, unusual for this industry, we actually understand the dynamics of a kitchen, how to design individual cabinets to perform their functions better. We start right at the grass roots of considering how an actual cabinet is put together and WHY it is done that way.

This sets us apart from the herd. Simply making a list of catalogue units fit a given space to me is NOT kitchen design. Taking the Holistic view of the room and how you function within it, to us, is far more important. If we need a unit that you feel would really help you work better in your kitchen, we CREATE IT, this takes us back to an earlier blog entitled: Bespoke by definition, our definition ! posted Jan 2014. ( a good read ! )

Now you're thinking " OMG, this is gonna cost a fortune !" but you couldn't be more wrong !
With our Eco Select entry level range kicking off with a 500mm base unit for only £97.00 + vat. 
We're basically talking flat pack prices for a colour matched, 18mm rigid built cabinet with door and as you will see in my earlier blog ( listed above ), to make your units fit spot on, we can tailor sizes for just a tenner !

We are a family based, creative thinking, intelligent kitchen company with a vested interest in making sure your new kitchen fits well and does exactly what you need it to do. We do not just stuff your room full of more units than you need just because they're the only ones in the catalogue that will fit !!

And just as important, we feel, we can 'create and install' or simply 'create and supply' to any part of our glorious nation, wherever you are !

Let's raise a glass to creative thinking, we'll even supply the wine !!

Jules.

T - I - M .... B - E - R !!

OK my faithful blogworms, my topic for this week is .... Hardwood worktops !

Hardwood worktops are wonderful and one of the oldest materials ever used as a kitchen surface, they are naturally anti bacterial, very design friendly, can be cut and machined to almost any shape or size and are eminently practical.

You disagree ! ...... Probably because you've had a bad experience with badly fitted tops and no instructions whatsoever as to how to look after them .... Am I right ??

Here's a couple of pics of some that we are restoring as part of a kitchen refurb at this very moment.

 Yes, I did say RESTORE !. I should have taken some pics before I started really then you could have seen how bad they were but however, we caught them in time to achieve the results you see here.

They have suffered 15 years of lack of knowledge ! That was their only crime !

These tops were not the best quality to begin with but were fitted by someone who didn't really have an understanding of hardwood.
I'm not going to bore you with a list of problems I found but suffice it to say, we took them off, just in the nick of time really, and stripped them back to re-finish.

Starting from scratch with the finishing process, we do all the hard work so you don't have to, in their newly restored state they will now last for a good long time into the future and look fabulous for many years to come. 

The essential difference is that now they are finished properly and a full set of care instructions will be left with the customer, they will be able to understand how to care for them going forward.

We've put together a 2 page A4 leaflet with a set of installation instructions on one side and care instructions on the reverse. 

The installation instructions tell you how and why we do what we do to the timber and the care instructions tell the end user what do and when it needs doing to look after them

It's all very simple, written with 25 years of experience in the field and written in plain simple English so anyone can understand them.

Now the point to this tale of woe with a happy ending is that you too could have a happy ending too if you're in this position. I don't care if someone else supplied and fitted your worktops, if they're struggling and need help just simply email me on : julian@milestone.uk.net or follow us on Facebook: MilestoneEcoKitchens, like our page and leave me a message.

OR use the contact through our website and I'll email you a set of these valuable instructions ...FREE OF CHARGE ... so that together we can start to bring tired timber worktops back to life and looking gorgeous just as they should !

Don't delay and DON'T BE SCEPTICAL, this is a geniune offer with no strings attached

Trying to make the world of timber a better place, Jules.

T - I - M ..... B - E - R ...  the lumberjack calls, don't let the trees he felled die in vain !

Independant thinking

Ey up my faithful blogworms,

This week, I am puzzled and could do with some answers

 I've heard and keep hearing horror stories about normal people making normal decisions about high ticket items such as kitchens and it going abnormally wrong.

It dismays me when I hear this whoever and wherever you are.

Do you know what the linking factor is ?

Go on, guess !!!!

You all bought kitchens from the big sheds !! ie: Magnet, Wickes, Ikea, Howdens and the like. 


 I have know personal axe to grind or any personal experience of this, it's all based on the stories I've heard from others. ALL TOO REGULARLY !

Common complaints are:  Kitchens turning up with bits missing, doors damaged, parts the wrong colour, worktops short / wrong colour / damaged, handles missing, no sink, parts taking upto 6-8 weeks to arrive !! etc. the list goes on & on & on. 

A poor fitter turns up to install your kitchen, he/she has got no bloody chance from minute one ! And who gets the blame ..... the fitter, come on people wise up ! It's often not his fault but he's used as the fall guy.

Some guy in a suit turns up to measure your kitchen in the beginning, he's probably never fitted a damn kitchen in his life ! How can you trust someone like that to consider every aspect of your project, which is vital for it's success, if he hasn't a clue what he's looking for ????

Bits of this tale of woe should by now be ringing bells with some of you, yet you still buy kitchens from these places.



That's my big question and why I'm puzzled. Please tell me why this still happens.

There is a fantastic network of independant kitchen retailers out there who are often: better, cleverer, think more creatively, more versatile, plan more comprehensively, who actually care about making sure you get exactly what you want, not want some pushy salesman wants you to have.

Get real, people, put your project in the capable hands of us, the independants, who have a local reputation to uphold and will do everything possible to make your kitchen go smoothly. And, shock, horror, you will probably find we're the same cost or cheaper. We have to compete to survive !

At Milestone. we pride ourselves on not having had 1 single complaint in the 25 odd years we've been in business, we thrive on recommends from satisfied customers. 

We're not some big faceless company with outlets all over the country who are really not bothered by peoples complaints because we're big enough to stand a few unhappy customers. 

We can compete favourably with the big concerns and 2 things have always stood out in our thinking:

1) If people are interested enough in what we do to walk through our showroom door, then we feel they're important enough to give their request our full attention, no matter how big or small that request. 
We don't say, and I've heard this with my own ears ! , "Unless you've got £30,000 to spend on your new kitchen, we can't help you" We listen even if you've only popped in to ask for a couple of new hinges for a kitchen door.

2) We don't care how unusual, odd or curious your questions or requests may be .... Our answer's Yes, now ask the the question. This, perhaps unsurprisingly, catches most people out, as they've probably been everywhere else first and everyone else had said No !

Serves you right, you muppet, you should have come hear first. Don't be scared of your independant thinkers, try us first, we're really nice people and think of the legwork and heartache you could save.

OK, rant over, remember: things are not always cheaper or better from the "Sheds" or over the internet !!

Your best interests at heart. Jules

Ultimately practical dining tables

Ey up my faithful blogworms, 

We talk lots about kitchens so, I thought this week I'd share with you a brilliant concept for complementary dining tables that I've made to go with them.

 Still, in kitchens, granite is probably the most durable, effective & heatproof of all worktops but why limit it the just the kitchen.

We carry out many projects where we open up dining rooms into kitchens to create a fantastic through space where it becomes the social hub of the home. As a result, you do need to concentrate on making 2 become 1 when considering the decor.

Many people then spend loads of time trying to find a dining table that works with the kitchen furniture. 

My idea was to make a table that has a central granite panel to allow you to put hot pans and dishes straight onto it, serving your family or guests straight from the pan while hot !! Much more sociable in the sharing of food, much more practical in terms of cutting down on washing up etc. of loads of unecessary serving dishes and it protects your table from annoying scratches without covering the table first.

I've never understood the principle of buying a fabulous new dining table only to cover it up with a cloth so you can't see it because you're scared to death of marking it. Totally  pointless !!

The top picture here shows a table that we specifically made from scratch to go with an Oak and Baltic Brown granite kitchen, so we can save you loads of time and stress by actually making your table to match !!


The second picture shows an Oak dining table that had already been bought for a kitchen so we modified it to take the central Bon Accord granite panel to match the kitchen.

Making, in our minds, the ultimate dining table that ticks all the boxes you want to tick. So whether you already have your table or want one making to match, don't leave out your humble dining table out when thinking about your new kitchen project, we have a couple of ways of getting you the table you really want.

We can also take any timber table you may already have a insert a granite panel into it, if you just love the idea and want one creating to go with the kitchen you've already got. 

After all, you wouldn't spend a small fortune on new hair-do and then spend all day wearing a balaclava ........ WOULD YOU ?

A bit more creative thinking ...... Jules.

Pandoras Box

Ey up my faithful blogworms, this week carrying on the theme of recycling timber, I would like to introduce you all to ...... Pandoras Box !

 More specifically ..... 'Pandoras Camp Box and Table'

Designed by me in my shed as a compact multifunction box to take on our camping trips and days out in Pandora, our campervan.
The very first one, I built from recycling pallets, the theme of last weeks blog but to put into production they are now built from new sustainably sourced softwood.


The concept is to save space and perform more than one task. To that end, Pandoras box carries all your provisions neatly in one place and transforms quickly and easily into a table once you arrive at your destination. Strong and sturdy, Pandoras box is capable of carrying all your cups, plates and cutlery, food & drink or even your camping stove all in 1 tidy place.



Load it up, pack some chairs and you're ready to go ! 

It makes picnic baskets obsolete and is way more versatile !

The legs fasten on very easily and due to their design have a degree of movement to allow small adjustments to level the table and take out any rocking movement, even with 4 legs you won't end up packing the legs with bits of wood to make it stable. The table is equally at home on tarmac, grass or sand as long as it's not too soft.



 We're making Pandoras box in two finishes at the moment: natural and antique black waxed

Ours in use one one of our many holidays or trips out, we don't know how on earth we managed without one !!

Pandoras box lives permanently in the back of our bus, we never go anywhere without it but it does also fit well on the back seat of a car.

Come on ... this is so much better than sitting and eating on wet grass with stones sticking into your bum and certainly a lot more stylish. If you're sitting on a beach on rugs, you don't even need to fit the legs and it's still at a comfy height to eat at.

A perfect addition to your life, turning camping into glamping at a stroke.

For more details and prices, change your life and contact me on : julian@milestone.uk.net or through my facebook page. 

Jules.